27 January 2020 – 5 February 2020
The weekend started with the social event of the decade. At least if you’re Ellie and you’re turning 10. Double digits. She was bouncing off the walls with excitement. We were remembering how we couldn’t believe we were allowed to take her out of the hospital almost 10 years ago. We were scratching our heads, wondering where the time had gone and how our little baby had grown up so fast.
Anyway, on to more important things, like 10 year old birthday parties. The plan was complex and lengthy, starting with a pick up straight from school to head to Urban Jump, the local trampolining place, before coming back to the apartment for pizza, movies, a sleepover and pancakes for breakfast. Ellie and 3 of her besties – Ysilas (French/Dutch), Lily (French/American) and Pia (German/French/maybe something Irish).
The execution was no less complex or lengthy. Excitement at Urban Jump peaked early with the realisation there was another birthday party for the same class at Urban Jump at the same time – meaning that another 8 or 10 boys were also there. Flipping competitions rapidly ensued (Ellie and Ysilas wiping the floor with the hapless boys in this respect).
Friday afternoon traffic turned our 15 minute return trip into an hour plus marathon home through a thunderstorm, the time passing even slower thanks to some very boisterous, multi lingual sing-a-longs happening throughout the journey. Pizza was successful and then, just as they were starting to get tired and a bit ansy, we basically locked them in their room and threw away the key.
We unlocked the door at 7.30am the next day, about 2 hours after noise had started emanating from the room. It was time to feed the wild beasts. Pancakes seemed to allay the worst of the over-tired anger, and then it was time to clock watch and pray that 11am (pick up time) came around faster than they could destroy the house.
Fortunately it did. In fact, parties were actually getting easier the older they got…. At least for now!
Meanwhile, Jessie had spent the last night out of Dodge, and escaping to her best buddy Lola’s house for a sleepover too. Avoiding the worst of the day-after-over-tired-come-down, Anthony and Sena went to pick her up and peel her off the ceiling (it seems Jessie and Ellie were having a competition for who could function on the least sleep… it would be a very quiet afternoon).
From pick ups, we headed off to Decathlon (happy days) for Sena’s ‘all-my-Christmas’s-have-come-at-once’ event – buying a bike. Now this was strictly on doctor’s orders – we had been told that bike riding would be good to strengthen Sena’s leg that was still recovering from the break last Christmas and not being used for 3 months last year. We’re not sure that a pink, flowering contraption complete with basket and training wheels were exactly within the prescription but Sena was certainly content and refused to dismount, even through the checkout.
Bike riding has become Sena’s new obsession. She loves it, and can now be found each morning and afternoon riding to the school bus and wants nothing more than to cruise around on her bike in any other free moments too. The addition of a bike to our gaggle of roller blading, skateboarding attacking chaos does nothing to add to the subtlety of our journies across Aix each day.
Saturday evening we had a kids free adults only apero at our friends Diane and Bens. It was great to see everyone and a few quiet drinks.
On Sunday Anthony headed off to London to visit Jeff, Izabela and the kids in their almost new home (their Airbnb had fallen through and their stuff was still on a boat somewhere in the Indian Ocean, meaning that home was presently the Holiday Inn in Sutton) . Determined not to repeat the shambles that was his almost trip to Milan, Anthony arrived nice and early at the airport and even managed to find the boarding gate and get on the plane. Success.
He was greeted in Gatwick but the typical English ‘computer says no’ attitude to customer service – the bus driver announcing that his card machine was not working and driving off with a basically empty bus, leaving a line of exasperated, hoped to be customers standing wondering what to do next. British customer service at its best.
Dubious welcomes aside, it was strange to be back in an English speaking country. Whilst we will always have a soft spot for London, it didn’t feel right being surrounded by English. It felt a little one dimensional and boring. Not even this sparkling January sunshine (and the excitement of remembering to look the right way when crossing the road) could shake the feeling.
Meanwhile back in Aix Liz and the girls were fulfilling their dreams as Acro stars and baking up a storm.
In London, it was lovely to see Jeff and the family, and to be able to spend time with them with no distractions (like having to take care of my own kids). They have chosen Carshalton as their new home, which is a lovely area of south London surrounded by lots of parks and green space.
They have only been in the UK for 3 weeks, and with the Airbnb induced curveball and subsequent living arrangement hassles (5 in a room, Jeff and Izabela pretty much working ‘around the clock’ – between Jeff starting work at 1am to be on Australian time and Izabela doing her assignment until midnight and having no access to cooking equipment in the hotel) this is a pretty stressful time for them. That said, the kids seem to be settling in well, have started schools and are making friends. After 1 week at school, Millie already sounds like she grew up in London.
We got to hang out, go swimming in the hotel pool, go to dinner, put them to bed, demolish the hotel buffet each day and do drop offs and pick ups. I even got to host dinner on the final night when we were there, showing off the full equipment of my ‘Saint James Apartments’ – read ex council house converted into cheap apartments (or was it just an outreach house?). However dubious the accommodation (fair to say the kids, now accustomed to the lofty heights of the Holiday Inn, were shocked that I could stay in such drudgery) it did sport a communcal kind of kitchen replete with microwave where we could heat up M&S’s finest pumpkin soup for dinner.
Whilst I was there, I did get the opportunity to explore some of the area by foot, heading from Sutton to Wimbledon, amazed again at how much wonderful green space London has when compared with many other European cities.
On Tuesday I said goodbye to the family and spend a couple of hours wandering around central London, taking in the sights of this beautiful city for the first time in almost 10 years. It was another beautiful day and London was at its sparkly best. So much is the same but also quite a bit has changed, including the incredible Shard on the skyline.
All the time, I was asking myself, should the opportunity arise, would we live here again? The answer I think is ‘not by choice’. If it was the right opportunity for either Liz or I then maybe, but it would be a professional call rather than a personal one. It would feel a bit like a step back, not a step forward and its hard to see how London can be better for kids than Sydney.
Joseph Family Adventure 